Cold Sunrise
by SugarLandBabyGirl
Summary: As a military brat she knew better than to become too attached to anything, because once she did, it always slipped right through her fingers. Can someone like her, who rejects attachment to people actually belong to something as central as a Mafia family?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** _I recently looked over this story again and decided that it needed a bit of a make-over, nothing drastic but a few details were missing and such, so I've corrected it. This is the _new _chapter.

Take care,

~ SugarLandBabyGirl

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_**Chapter One**_

Cerulean eyes blinked lazily as the fifteen year old took in her surroundings with complete indifference, while her mother directed the movers with her infamous courtroom voice. Her words, spoken swiftly in fluent Japanese, were completely intangible to the apathetic teenager, who had yet to actually learn anything useful from her language books and CDs, other than insults, simple phrases and honorifics. The teenager didn't actually care about learning any languages other than English, the basic universal language. To her it didn't matter if she learned Japanese or not, as she probably wasn't going to stay in Namimori Japan long enough for it to do her any good. She was already counting down the days until her father would walk through the front door and announce their next move.

Her father, Broderick Dalianis was an American born full-blooded Grecian-American, who had joined the military just after he graduated high school and had stayed in the military, even after marrying her mother Annette, who was at the time an aspiring attorney and having a child two years after their marriage. Somehow, despite all the odds they had remained married for seventeen years, though the teen couldn't say for sure whether their marriage was happy or not. It was a strange marriage in the teen's eyes. Her parents hardly ever saw one another and when they were actually together they acted more like business associates than an actual couple. The girl guessed that they were good parents all-in-all. Although they treated her in a similar manner as they did one another, she always had a roof over her head, food in her stomach and clothes on her back. There wasn't any real closeness in their family, which she assumed was due to her father and mother always being away from the house busy with their demanding professions.

The bored teen sighed quietly under her breath before she stretched her arms upwards and slowly stood to her feet, before she stealthily snuck past her mother and exited the house, before her mother could assign her a piece of furniture to help move. Once outside the house, the cerulean eyed teen looked over their newest home and found nothing special about it. It was an average two-story modern day Japanese house, with a gated front, a small backyard and it was painted the same bland colors like all the others on the street. They had moved to another quiet, boring, suburban type place. She had been in a couple places like that before and even though they had been in America, a continent away, she expected nothing different.

Without so much as blinking the apathetic teen lazily stuffed her hands in her jean's pockets, turned away from the house and began walking down the street. The teen wasn't worried about getting in trouble for skipping out on moving furniture, she knew her mother would make the movers get everything situated just like she wanted and she already knew what her punishment would be, if her mother found her missing, so she didn't even think twice about leaving without informing her mother beforehand. It wasn't like she was really needed or would be of any help anyways. Her mother was a borderline obsessive—compulsive perfectionist, while the younger female just didn't care where stuff ended up. She wasn't a slob by any means, she liked order, but she didn't even come close to being as fixated with absolute perfection as her mother or even her father.

The apathetic teen idly trudged along the concrete street eying her surroundings with a bored frown. She wasn't sure how long she had been walking, but she was sure her trip was a lot shorter than it seemed. The town was pretty much every suburbanites dream: the schools and shopping areas were within a decent walking distance, the people were pleasant and polite, yet not overbearingly so and the town was peaceful, or it seemed that way at least. The lethargic teen had already somewhat assumed that a town called Namimori would be a boring place and now she was fairly confident that her first assumption was spot-on. Speaking of schools, the lazy teen wondered if she would actually be able to join the High School, even though she barely knew any Japanese. Even if they let her join, she doubted she would be able to stay for more than a few months, maybe a year, if she stretched it. She never stayed at anyplace for more than a year, couldn't because of her father's military career.

On the trip back to her new house she shadowed past a teenage boy, who looked to be only a year or so older than she. He had a piece of white tape over his nose and a strange haircut. To her it looked like someone had got a hold of him with a weed-whacker and went to town. He was jogging down the road punching the air in front of him, like a boxer in training while talking aloud to himself in Japanese. The quiet girl raised a curious eyebrow at the grinning slivery white haired boy when he suddenly shouted out something that sounded like the word 'extreme', before he continued on his way, never taking notice of the fallow haired girl who watched him until he rounded the corner.

The girl shrugged her shoulders in a forgetful manner, quickly forgetting the loud, eccentric boy as she sighted her new house. The mover's were packing up their truck getting ready to leave. She wondered if she had actually been gone that long, or if her mother had just kicked the movers out to do the furniture rearranging herself. From the grimacing looks on the mover's faces, the teen guessed that it was the latter. Her mother had probably snapped at them like she did to people in the courtroom. Her mother was quite vicious, when she wanted to be despite her slender, yet shapely physique and deceptively soft Columbia blue eyes. The fallow haired teen often compared her mother to a cat, who while usually quiet and calm could lash out unexpectedly with sharp claws and vicious fangs.

Upon entering the new house the quiet teen toed off her tennis shoes at the door, picked them up and traipsed into the living room, where her mother was staring at the couch with a thoughtful frown on her lips. When the frowning woman noticed her daughter slouching against the doorway with an apathetic frown and detached cerulean eyes her frown noticeably darkened. Her daughter was an enigma. She was so emotionless and isolated from the world around her, but she didn't voice her thoughts. "Dinner will be take-out tonight, I'll order after your father comes home. Is there anything in particular you would like, Chastain?" She asked instead, her voice direct and even, almost emotionless as she brushed her light brown bangs from her eyes.

The apathetic eyed teen was silent for a few minutes, before she spoke. "It doesn't matter, just order whatever you want. I'll be unpacking my stuff." Chastain's voice was quiet and dispassionate, as she turned away from her mother and headed up the stairs to start setting up her new empty room. There wasn't even a bed frame set up in her room yet, it was just an empty void with a lot of heavy boxes all over the place, like almost every other room in the house, except the living room. The long, fallow haired teen pushed open her bedroom door and carelessly chunked her shoes into the nearest empty corner on the pallid colored room, before she stretched her arms skyward and sighed quietly, while eyeing her full size bed frame with wary cerulean eyes. "What a pain," Chastain muttered before grabbing the small black toolbox and walking over to the bed frame. It was going to be a long night and possibly morning, for everyone in the house.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ _This story starts around three and a half months before the start of the actual Anime/Manga._

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_**Chapter Two**_

Chastain yawned widely, her cerulean eyes hazy and hooded from lack of sleep, as she slowly ambled down the stairs in a pair of black and white knee length sleeping shorts and a black band t-shirt. The shirt came down past mid thigh and hung lazily off her left shoulder. The fallow haired teen knew she hadn't slept long, maybe three or four hours if she was lucky and she sure felt the lack of rest too. On a good note she had slept on her bed last night, but only the naked mattress and uncovered pillows. She had been far too tired after fighting with her bed frame and heavy mattresses to even care about putting the sheets on. She had however put the sheets on before she dragged her lethargic body down the stairs and into the empty kitchen to get breakfast.

Chastain bypassed the oval shaped table and went straight for the refrigerator. Drowsily she opened the refrigerator, grabbed the gallon of chocolate milk and plopped it carelessly onto the table, before she swiped a plastic cup from the cabinet above the sink and a plastic spoon from the rack of eating utensils. After she had everything on the table she ambled towards the pantry and grabbed the solitary box of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, before she fixed her breakfast. With her cool cup of cereal in hand Chastain entered the living room and gracelessly plopped herself down on the couch while stirring her cereal. Carelessly she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, before she began flipping through the channels. Much to her discontent most of the channels were in Japanese with English subtitles.

Chastain spared a glance at the Balboa clock that had a wrought iron frame and featured a black crackle finish with a warm wood tone clock face and had a working pendulum and quartz movement, only to see that it was just a few minutes past five o'clock in the morning. It was her mother's favorite clock and Chastain had to admit that it was rather trendy. With a mute tired sigh Chastain ran her fingers through her tangled, ratty hair that was in desperate need of a good, thorough washing before she tipped the cup of chocolate milk back and emptied the cup. The pale brown haired girl groaned before she clicked the power button on the remote off and forced her exhausted body off the couch and into the kitchen to dispose of her trash. Chastain glanced around the kitchen just to make sure she hadn't left a mess for her mother to frown at later, before she headed to the bathroom.

Around ten to fifteen minutes later Chastain exited the bathroom with a large dark sapphire colored towel around her body and a matching smaller towel wrapped tightly around her head, with her dirty clothes balled up in her arms. As the fifteen year old ascended the stairs she passed her mother, in a black camisole and matching sleeping pants. "Good morning Chastain." Annette acknowledged her daughter with a nod of her head. Her daughter politely, if not robotically parroted her before the mother and daughter continued on their way without any further acknowledgement. When she entered her room Chastain dumped her dirty clothes in her clothes basket, before she turned on her stereo and let the soft hum of _Breaking Benjamin's_ song _What Lies Beneath_ reverberate throughout her box cluttered room.

Just as the song _Dear Agony_ came on Chastain heard a firm knock at her door and she quickly zipped up her jeans, before opening her door only to see the stern face of her father. "Sir?" Chastain asked quietly, as her father's stone cold sapphire eyes looked over her appearance. When he found that her appearance acceptable his eyes met his daughter's. "Your mother and I wish to speak to you before we leave." He announced Chastain nodded her head. "Yes sir, I'll be down in a minute." He nodded his head in approval and Chastain watched as he turned and descended the stairs. Her father had smooth Mediterranean skin, just a shade or so darker than his daughter's and close cropped surfer blonde hair. He was also quite intimidating with his strict posture, well-muscled yet slender body and impressive height; he was exactly six feet tall.

All-in-all Chastain always thought that her father could have very well been the poster boy for surfers, if not for his short hair and military attitude. Chastain quickly towel dried her hair and grabbed her tennis shoes, before dumping her towel in the clothes basket and descending the stairs, after turning off her stereo. Her parents were waiting for her in the kitchen, her mother still in her sleepwear while her father was dressed in his military attire, reading the morning paper with a steaming a cup of coffee in one hand. Chastain sat her shoes by the doorway, before taking a seat at the quiet table. When she was comfortably seated her parents turned their attention on her. Unsurprisingly her father was the first to speak.

"As you know, Chastain I've had to move us around a lot for work, but upon speaking to my superiors yesterday they have determined that this will more than likely be our last move." Chastain's eyes barely betrayed her shock, but her parents saw the rare show of emotion in their daughter's apathetic cerulean eyes. "So your mother and I have decided that in three and a half months, if you have properly learned how to read, write and speak acceptable Japanese then you will join Namimori Middle School. Are those satisfactory terms, Chastain?" He finished and took a sip from his coffee cup, his eyes never leaving his daughter. Chastain was quiet for a few moments before she nodded her head in reluctant agreement. "Yes sir,"

Her father nodded, "Good," He then glanced at his wife who nodded in return, before he handed her the morning paper and turned back to his daughter. "I expect you will have learned everything before the time is up, so you won't be behind in your classes." He father stated pointedly and Chastain quietly confirmed his words with a nod and a quiet 'yes sir'. "May I please be excused from the table?" Chastain asked her father in a polite, yet detached tone. "Yes, you may." Her father replied as he moved to the sink and began to wash his coffee cup. Chastain turned to leave, but stopped short and turned back to her silent parents. "May I go into town?" She asked. Her father turned to look at her mother and they shared a nod. "Yes," her father replied while towel drying the cup. "However, I want to see your room straightened and you studying when I come home." Her father told her with a stern look and Chastain knew her father was also speaking for her mother.

"Yes sir, I will." Chastain agreed, before she picked up her shoes and pulled them on at the door. With a spare key and a billfold in her back jeans pocket Chastain left her house to explore the town and get away from her parents. She knew they wouldn't be there when she got back. Her father would leave to head to the base in a few minutes and her mother would leave at precisely six o'clock. Chastain was almost always the first one up in the mornings. She rather despised her internal alarm clock, but made no effort to change her now routine schedule. There were perks to awakening so early. The first one was that she didn't have to eat breakfast in an awkwardly silent atmosphere anymore, unlike her parents.

Slowly and in no hurry the fallow haired teenager meandered towards the town, her father's announcement ringing through her mind. With a sour frown on her lips Chastain sent a small pebble at her feet soaring into the air. She watched with bored eyes as it ricocheted off a utility pole and circled back towards her where she caught the small smooth pebble in her left hand. She weighed the small stone in her weaker hand, before she tossed it up in the air and caught it, before carelessly tossing it over her shoulder while still walking. _'Why?'_ She silently questioned, _Why here of all places, why now?'_ She wondered what her father's bosses were thinking, sending an American family to live in Japan of all places, a town in Japan that doesn't even use English as a second language. Her father's bosses sure had a cruel sense of humor.

Chastain spent most of the morning just meandering around Namimori. She made a mental note of several stores that piqued her interest, but didn't actually go into any of them. There was a music store that sold a variety of music, movies and instruments. She knew she would be visiting that store sooner rather than later, as well as the sports store just across the street from the music store. As well as the clothing store a few buildings down and the electronics store right next to the clothing store. There was also a small weapons shop that sold everything from handguns to katanas and everything in between and beyond. It was an interesting store she wanted to explore closer, but she decided to leave that for another day. She was sorely tempted to examine the electronics store closer but refrained due to the fact she was having problems with Japanese money and the way things were priced made her head spin. Everything seemed so overpriced, but she was unsure if that was actually the case or if she was just too accustomed to American money.

Somewhere around one-thirty in the afternoon Chastain's stomach growled due to her lack of nourishment. The fallow haired girl placed a gentle hand over her abdomen with a grimace. There were no leftovers at home from the previous night's meal and no food at her house except cereal, coffee, and her mother's granola bars. Chastain's nose crinkled at the thought of eating her mother's nasty granola bars. The fifteen year old detested anything that tasted anything like granola and coffee made her sick to her stomach. Her stomach growled again and with a defeated sigh Chastain began to scout the area for a restaurant that served something familiar. The first restaurant Chastain came to was a Sushi bar type place and Chastain quickly hurried past the entrance and a tall, boy about her age with spiky dark hair, when the thought of eating raw fish made her stomach roll unpleasantly.

She barely heard the boy call out a pleasant greeting as she passed him, but she only turned and managed to politely nod her head in return before she fast walked away. Her stomach was still rolling like a dryer on high when she managed to lose sight of the shop. Chastain groaned silently willing her stomach to calm down before she puked up her breakfast all over the street. The fifteen year old liked fish when it was properly cooked. But the smell, taste and thought of it raw made her visibly sick, due to a very unpleasant incident when she was an infant. Chastain held her stomach delicately as she took in shallow calming breaths, unfortunately she was still hungry. However luck must have been with her as she practically stumbled upon a restaurant that did not serve any uncooked fish.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

_Sick Puppies'_ song _Riptide_ drifted around a now fully furnished and straightened room as Chastain lay prone on her bed, her face lazily cupped in her left hand with her laptop and her Japanese language book laid open before her. True to her word, Chastain had begun to study the books and CDs after she got home from exploring the town every evening. After a week she could finally buy things with a certain level of confidence. She could already read a fair bit of Japanese, but she was still having a lot of trouble with writing and proper pronunciation. Over all her room was rather plain, after she had straightened it. There was really no life or color in the room, everything was just there and in order, except for the flashy sports cars, trucks and remote Mediterranean beaches that flashed across her laptop screen.

Chastain glanced up from her open book and at her laptop and saw that it was only a few minutes after twelve-twenty pm. She had decided that she was going to study early that morning so she could go and stay out a little later than usual, with her parent's permission of course. They had agreed as long as she was able to properly pronounce and speak two whole pages in the book with no problems when they got back. The agreement was rather hard, but with the audio CDs Chastain was fairly confident that she could pass her parent's expectations. With a relaxing shoulder roll the pale brown haired teenager gently closed her book and turned off her laptop, before she stood from her bed and placed the book on her desk beside the laptop. Chastain grabbed her wallet off the nightstand and stuffed into her back pocket, before she turned off her stereo and grabbed her shoes by the door.

Chastain checked the front pocket of her jeans for the extra house key before she pulled her shoes on, left the quiet house and headed towards the town. The fifteen year old had a few stores she wanted to visit. She knew she was going to buy some stuff from a couple of the stores, but the store she was most interested in visiting was the music store. There were a few cheap older movies she was interested in watching again and luckily for her the music store had everything halved between original Japanese movies, with or without English subtitles and regular English speaking movies. If she had time afterwards Chastain was probably going to visit the weapons shop, just to see if their newest shipment of weaponry had come in on schedule and maybe she would browse around at the other shops, just to kill some time. After all she had nothing better to do and she had already spent half of the day studying.

Chastain's lips formed into an apathetic frown when she suddenly remembered that she was beginning to run low on cereal, chocolate milk, bottled water and a few other important necessities. The pale brown haired girl pulled her wallet out of her back pocket and flipped it open to see if her emergency credit card was in the smooth brown leather embossed bifold wallet like it should have been. Chastain's thumb habitually smoothed gently over the proud lone wolf standing alert on the front of the leather wallet. As she had first assumed it was, her credit card, along with her two id cards and a mix of Japanese and American bills were in the wallet. The twelve inch long chain attached to the wallet and her belt loop clinked against her leg as she placed the wallet back into her pocket and calmly continued on her way.

It didn't take long before she entered the heart of Namimori, which was thankfully not too crowded or overly noisy. She had managed to hit the town just after lunch, just like she wanted. Indifferent cerulean eyes gazed at each of the shops for a minute before Chastain decided the smart move would be to browse first and then buy, that way she wouldn't have to carry so much stuff around for longer than necessary. On a whim Chastain entered the clothing store first. Unsurprisingly she didn't find many things of interest in the store except for what she bought which was a pair of yoga pants, two matching yoga camisoles and a sports bra. On her way out of the store Chastain accidentally bumped into someone which made their bags fall to the floor in a jumbled heap. "I'm sorry, are you alright ma'am?" Chastain asked the woman in Japanese as she bent down to help the woman pick up her spilt items.

"Yes, of course," The woman replied with a sincerely kind smile that caused Chastain to momentarily halt in retrieving the woman's things. It had been a long time since anyone especially a stranger had given the fifteen year old a smile like that: one void of any negative emotions and full of life and true happiness. Chastain had forgotten what it was like to feel that way or to see those emotions on another. Chastain's eyes quickly observed the woman's features but strayed away from her kindly smile and eyes. The woman was older than Chastain, old enough to have children Chastain's age but she was still very youthful in appearance. Chastain's first coherent thought of the woman was a single word: 'soft'. It was an odd feeling to be around someone who was so fragile which in Chastain's mind went hand-in-hand with soft and Chastain was unsure of how to proceed. The sudden uncertain sensation was unfamiliar to the teen who was normally a very confident, if not slightly arrogant, person.

"Thank you for helping me," The woman's soft voice broke Chastain from her thoughts like a snapped rubber band. The teenager shook her head slightly in refusal for the undeserved thanks. "It was my fault, I bumped into you ma'am." The woman laughed and Chastain couldn't understand why she was so happy after being knocked down, accidentally or not. The woman's next question surprised Chastain so much that she could only stare at the woman in surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry I never asked if you were alright, are you?" The woman asked with such a worried expression that Chastain wondered if the woman was actually speaking to her or not. "Yes ma'am, I am fine, you needn't worry." Chastain finally managed to answer after a moment of stunned silence. The woman sighed in relief and raised her free hand to her chest with a comforted smile on her lips. "I'm glad. I'm Sawada Nana, what's your name?" Nana asked politely after she bowed in greeting. Chastain introduced herself and returned the bow in an effort to not seem rude.

"Dalianis Chastain," Nana repeated the name softly as if she were committing the name to memory forever. "It's a lovely name, Chastain-chan." Nana told the teenager with another of her kind smiles. "Thank you Sawada-san," Chastain replied as sincerely as possible before she politely excused herself knowing that she had spent more time than was necessary conversing with the kindly woman and her free time had been cut short due to it. Chastain wasn't in any hurry to be anywhere else in truth, but she felt strange in Mrs. Sawada's presence. Out of place was the proper expression. Chastain felt inapt due to her lack of emotion. Truly the woman must have thought she was strange as not once during their exchange did Chastain smile or laugh or even attempt to do so. Laughing and smiling so freely were abnormal expressions and occurrences to the apathetic teen. Chastain couldn't even remember when she last laughed or smiled even. With forced effort Chastain forced the kind woman and her vibrant emotions out of her mind and continued on with her business.

When Chastain finally entered the weapon's shop she had only acquired three extra bags from the other stores she visited, all of they were small except for her grocery bag which was the largest by far. Chastain bypassed the man that was sitting at the checkout counter sparing him only a brief indifferent nod before she began to browse. Of course Chastain knew that it would be nearly impossible for her to purchase anything due to her being under age but that didn't stop her from looking. The store was magnificent in Chastain's opinion. The katana were some of the finest she had ever seen, as well as the daggers and knives, but the guns were indescribably outstanding. While the fifteen year old was a devoted fan of every type of gun, the one's she preferred above all were the hand guns due to the fact that they were easy to handle and even easier to access. The prices were reasonably fair on all of the weapons, not cheap by any means, but not horrendously overpriced either. One handgun in particular caught Chastain's interest as soon as her appraising gaze drifted over it. It was a sleek semi-automatic Beretta 92FS that could fire up to twenty rounds with the right magazine.

Chastain knew she spent no less than twenty full minutes staring at the gun but she just couldn't force her eyes away. Chastain was like a magnet and the gun was metal or perhaps it was the other way around. Chastain didn't care, she wanted that gun. With subtle narrowed eyes Chastain damned her age and wished that she was twenty-one. In a completely apathetic manner Chastain turned on her heel and left the store, but not before catching the store owners gaze. There was a look of wise awareness and knowing in his dark brown gaze that caused the small hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. There was something different about that man. He might or might not have been dangerous but he knew her intentions with only a short glance. He knew she would be back for that gun.

On the way back to her house Chastain's thoughts meshed within her mind which made her anxious. Too many strange occurrences had happened within such a short amount of time. First her accidental run-in with the kindly woman and then the brief eye contact with the excessively perceptive shop owner. Her day had not gone as she had originally planned, but she knew how to work around such problems thanks to her parents. There were many advantages of being the only child of a military officer and a lawyer even with their long absences in her life. They wanted only the best from her in everything she did, whether it was in her school studies or simply keeping her room clean and her clothes properly washed. In turn she had learned the 'tricks of the trade' as it were from them. It was a fair trade and one Chastain had no problem with as long as it benefitted her in some way.

That night, after a home cooked meal curtsy of Chastain's mother the fifteen year old was able to properly pronounce and repeat everything on the two pages that had been assigned to her back to her parents, which pacified them for the time being. Before Chastain went to bed she practiced her koga routine for the first time since she arrived in Japan. Koga was basically just the combining of yoga and kickboxing. It was relatively new but it was one of the few things Chastain actually enjoyed doing due to the challenges it brought to her as well as the peace of mind it left her with. She found it easier to sleep at night when her body and mind were relaxed and when she was calm she found it easier to study for longer periods of time, which in-turn pleased her parents and gave Chastain more leeway.

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**A/N:** _There should only be one, maybe two more chapter's like this before this story actually merges with the actual **KHR** story line._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

Almost four weeks later Chastain found herself back in town but for other reasons than to shop. She had officially started to scout out her future school her parents wanted her to go to two weeks ago. She had been trying to listen in on the rumors but found that they were hushed as soon as they began. Some of the local teenagers whispered a name in dark secret places but never bothered to elaborate which Chastain found ridiculous. Surely no one was that fearful, she reasoned thinking that they were nothing but cowardly idiots, until she witnessed firsthand the outcome of just saying the name of this 'bogeyman' in public. Even most of the adults became frigid and nervous which piqued her interest greatly. However Chastain knew she didn't want to stir up any trouble so she left their meeting to chance, unless she heard he was somewhere nearby. Truly Chastain was curious as to what the 'bogeyman' of the town looked like as no one would tell her anything useful. Unfortunately she had yet to actually catch a passing glimpse of him much to her chagrin.

As for the school it seemed blandly normal, just like every other one she had been to. She had also been keeping a distant yet watchful eye on the gun she wanted, but hadn't entered the store since she left it weeks prior. The strange owner caught her gaze momentarily when she passed by, but only offered a polite nod which she returned. Sometimes while Chastain was out she would spot Sawada Nana who would always smile and wave which had unnoticeably startled the teen at first although she was slowly starting to become accustomed to the woman's kindly ways. Occasionally they even spoke to one another, but only for a few short minutes as Chastain wanted to keep a fair amount of distance between herself and everyone else. In a way Chastain really didn't mind being around Sawada-san or her soft fragileness, but she knew it was something she should stay away from for her own good, as well as Sawada's.

Chastain had been simultaneously constructing a plan to buy the gun she so badly wanted while also attempting to catch Namimori's 'bogeyman'. Chastain could only hope that an arrangement could be made between the salesman and herself as she did not want to steal her father's card and identity to get the gun shipped to her new house. She had no doubt her father would send her to his new base for more disciplinary training. She had undergone basic training under her father's watch when she was eleven due to a horrific drop in her school grades and proper manners. That had been her first and last true attempt of rebellion. Afterwards however when her grades and manners were in their proper place she had asked her father for further more in-depth training, which was where she found her passion for guns. She had yet to reach her father's mastery level in most forms of combat, especially hand-to-hand which was where she was weakest, but she was not a rookie by any means. Her father and her own volition had made sure of it.

She still had not undergone the full training of a real soldier but her father had denied her that privilege saying that she was 'too young and not ready'. As much as the insult burned her she refrained from responding, as badly as she had wanted to at the time. She forcefully swallowed her wounded pride, nodded her head and went on with her life. That was three years ago. She was still irked by her father's refusal and hadn't asked him for anymore training since, due to her wounded pride and well hidden but simmering anger. Chastain refused to ask anymore of him and do it all on her own. Chastain snapped from her memory lapse as soon as her sneakered feet passed over the threshold of the weapons shop, her expression serious and all business. "Good evening sir," Chastain spoke evenly and business like after she made sure no one else was in the store. Their business was private. The older man nodded. "Good evening miss, what can I help you with?" He asked in fluent English straightening his posture as Chastain came to a halt in front of the counter.

"I wish to purchase two of the items under number 94327516 and an adequate amount of ammunition." She stated in English her eyes locked with the store owners. "I see." He muttered more to himself than to her. "Would you please excuse me for a moment?" He asked standing from his seat and walking over to the front door of the store. Chastain watched as he flicked the lock on the door closed and pulled the screen's on the window halfway down to where no one could peer into the store. When he was situated in front of the teenager again he locked gazes with her but said nothing. Chastain knew he was trying to read her, to see why she wanted the gun, why she could possibly need a weapon. "You're a bit young to buy a hand-gun are you not?" He asked slowly, deliberately. He wanted to see her reaction, Chastain realized immediately, but didn't show any emotion. "Six years," She admitted truthfully with a slow uncaring blink. The man grunted softly and Chastain took this moment to actually study the man before her.

He was obviously older than her, probably in his mid to late forties with darker skin than the common norm. He had age lines on his face and dark hazel eyes that looked to have seen too much. His hair was black and cropped close in the back but longer in the front with several wisps of hair hanging over his crinkled forehead. "You are aware that I could go to prison for selling weapons to you, no doubt." He commented thoughtfully. Silence ensued as they literally stared each other down. After what felt like only seconds the man leaned back in his chair and spoke. "I'll consider the deal you have, no doubt, already cooked up if you tell me why you could possibly need the gun." Chastain's eyebrow quirked at the oddity of the man's words and considered his proposal. "I want the guns for recreational purposes." She answered simply and truthfully. The man nodded his head. "You're familiar with handguns then." He stated his finger's intertwined in a steeple.

Chastain didn't make any motion to reply. The man was still thinking, rolling her words and actions around in his mind. Chastain heard him let out a heavy breath, before he moved from behind the counter and headed towards the back rack. When he came back he had the Beretta 92FS in his hand as well as a fully loaded magazine. He gently laid them out on the counter in front of her to examine the gun. "This is what you wanted?" He asked and nodded a 'yes' to her silently asked question to touch the gun and ammunition. Chastain grabbed the magazine first and inspected it. It was the twenty round magazine. When she found the magazine acceptable she grabbed the gun and began to inspect it. She turned with the gun in hand and held it up so she could look down the sights. The gun was perfect, she concluded silently. Even with the missing magazine she could tell that it would be just the right weight in her hands. It already felt like an extension of her arm. Carefully she laid the gun back on the counter and looked up at the salesman.

"What do I have to do to get two of these guns and the ammunition?" She asked coolly. "Are you familiar with the phrase '_Si vis pacem, para bellum'_?" He asked in turn. "If you wish for peace, prepare for war." She quoted in response having heard several military officers, including her father say the same thing on more than one occasion. "What about _'Experto crede'_?" He asked. "Believe one who has had experience." She recited the saying from another memory of her military training. He nodded his head as if finally coming to a conclusion, stood from his chair and motioned her to follow him to the back of the store. "Bring the gun," Chastain followed after the man without hesitance, thought curious as to what he wanted. As she passed through the back door and swept into the solid darkness of the room Chastain still held the gun assuredly in one hand and the magazine in the other.

"_Nec temere, nec timide,_" Chastain heard the man's voice say softly before the lights slowly flickered to life. Chastain recognized the room instantly. From the heavily padded walls to keep sound muted to the outside world, to the individual stalls stationed in front of many life-size targets. "Neither rashly nor timidly," She replied to his questioning gaze. "Indeed," He announced in louder tone, before motioning Chastain to come forward. "One should thoroughly think things through before they take any course of action." Chastain moved to stand beside the man and noticed that the odd designs on the stall walls were actually Latin inscriptions. Many of the same one's he had been testing her on. They looked to have been carved with a knife written first in Latin, then in Japanese, followed by English and so forth. The phrases were carved in almost every language known to modern day mankind. "_Nemo me impune lacessit,_" Chastain read the quote at her eyelevel aloud. "No one can harm me unpunished," She repeated in English and turned to look up at the man who had led her to the place with a questioning gaze.

"I was once a soldier," He started in a soft remembering tone. "I followed in the footsteps of my father and his father and his father before him. It was a family tradition you could say. Well as traditions go my son followed in my footsteps when he was old enough. These phrases are well known to everyone in the world and my son, as well as myself lived by them." He paused to trace his fingertips over another phrase that read '_Invicta'_ or in English 'undefeated' or 'unconquered'. "This–" He motioned to the spacious room around him before he continued. "–was my son's sanctuary and mine. It has not been used in a long while due to my son's passing." When he turned to lock gazes with Chastain the teenager realized exactly what was going on. "Load the gun and shoot the targets." He ordered in a voice not unlike a drill sergeant. The tone of his voice instantly snapped Chastain to attention and within the blink of an eye the gun was loaded, cocked, aimed and she began firing.

When she was certain all of the targets were hit she lowered the gun and turned to the observant man. "Precise and critical every one of them," She heard him mutter. "How many are left in the magazine?" He suddenly questioned. "Fifteen," She replied automatically. The nameless man nodded as if confirming something else he had been wondering about. "You've had military training from an expert." He stated. "Your stance was perfectly balanced, you movements smooth yet calculated and your reaction time was faultless." He said and moved closer to inspect the apathetic teenage girl. "You've had too much experience for one so young." He concluded in a stern voice. Chastain frowned finally having enough of his berating. "I've only had what was necessary and what I wanted." She stated in a cold tone. "Indeed," The man replied in a tone that was both angered and amused. "_Nescit cedere,_" Chastain replied flatly.

The man snorted and chuckled almost bitterly. "He does not know how to give up," He quoted back and tossed something at the girl. Chastain caught the feather light object with her free hand and gave the man a questioning look. He just silently motioned her to look. When she opened her fist she saw that it was a copper key. "You can use this place whenever you like. The ammo is free, as well as the cleaning equipment, but the gun isn't. You'll only be allowed the one you're holding, for now and I expect payment before you leave." He said as Chastain glanced up to see if he was joking or not. He wasn't, she concluded upon seeing the many emotions swim through his eyes. Chastain nodded her head in agreement before she gave a slight bow which he returned and introduced herself. "Kuroki Seigo," He introduced himself before he exited the room leaving Chastain in a state of contentment and perplexity. The man was strange, almost unreadable but she couldn't detect any deception from him.

Chastain pocketed the key and went to the closest desk by the closest wall. There she found the cleaning supplies in the second drawer and quickly but thoroughly cleaned the gun and reloaded the magazine. While she was finishing up she saw another Latin inscription carved on the desk. It read: _'Non incautus futuri'_. "Not unmindful of the future," She read aloud wondering who carved that specific phrase. Was it the son or the father? Kuroki-san seemed to be the wise type, but Chastain had never met the son so she wasn't going to jump to hasty conclusions. After she was through cleaning the gun she put everything back into its proper place before she headed towards the exit, gun in hand. When she went to flip the lights off her fingertips ran across another two inscriptions these she did not read but knew their meaning just from the letters. _'Post tenebras lux'_ and _'Post tenebras spero lucem'_ translated into English it said 'Light after darkness' and 'After darkness, I hope for light'. The teenager gave a half smirk at the irony before she flipped off the lights and exited the room.

Chastain paid with cash successfully using almost all of it, but left the store minutes later with the gun, a holster and three extra magazines well hidden in her clothes. The blue eyed girl noticed that the sun was beginning to set and immediately took off towards her house at a faster pace. She hadn't realized that it had taken so long to get the gun and what was worse she hadn't asked if she could stay out after dark. If her parents got home first and found her missing she was going to be punished. As she rounded the second to last corner that separated her from her destination Chastain heard a group of people talking so she slowed down before she caught sight of them. It was a group of teenagers dressed in what looked like school uniforms but just from the way they were standing and acting Chastain figured they were more like an actual gang of delinquents than just regular school students. The group of tall muscular boys were standing circled around a smaller teenage boy perched on a motorcycle. He didn't even look old enough to legally own the crotch rocket let along drive one.

They were speaking in hurried Japanese so Chastain missed more than half of their conversation but just as she ghosted pass the small opening of the circle she heard one of them speak a name she had been anxious to hear. On instinct she kept walking towards her destination but curiosity drove her to turn and look back at the group that hadn't even noticed her presence. When she did her eyes instantly locked onto an icy pair that struck her like a bullet. Warning bells and blaring alarms that screamed 'danger', 'trouble' and just about every other word that meant the same went off in her mind and the little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Rational reflection made Chastain wonder why she was having such a reaction to a boy who looked to be barely over her own age, but a wiser more instinctual part of her brain registered that he was _not_ 'just a boy'. He was the 'bogeyman' she had been searching for, and what a fear-provoking spook he was in person.

Now she knew why people shivered in their shoes at the mere mention of his name. He was paler than most people of Japanese descent, but it somehow suited him. His hair was pitch black and hung down framing his round, boyish face; apparently he hadn't yet lost his baby fat despite his age. His lips were pale, thin and curved downward in a displeased frown, but it was his eyes and mannerisms that sent an ice cold shockwave straight to her core. Their color was indescribable, she decided. They were almost blue with their intensity, electricity and unhidden power, but Chastain was hesitant to call them gray as they lacked sensitivity. Hibari Kyoya was in essence everything the rumors had made him out to be and Chastain loathed the fact that she, even with a loaded gun within reach, felt some of the fear the rest of the town felt towards him. Even in her fear she knew her face was as apathetic as it usually was, even her eyes and movements gave nothing away. She felt his eyes follow her until she rounded the next corner, but even then she still felt them penetrating her back.

'_Hibari Kyoya… you're a force to be reckoned with that's for certain,'_ Chastain thought as she unlocked her front door and slipped into her quiet house thankful that her parents had not yet returned home. As she slipped up the stairs with unnecessary silence she wondered if the whole day was only a dream. She hoped not. She had not only got the gun she wanted but she had also solved the mystery surrounding Namimori's bogeyman, Hibari Kyoya. Chastain slid the door closed and listened to her surroundings before she slipped the holster and magazines out from under her clothes and began to look for a good, but convenient hiding spot. Several minutes later Chastain heard her mother enter the house and walk up the stairs. When her mother knocked on her door Chastain called for her mother to enter, but didn't move from her current position in front of her laptop screen. Her apathetic gaze was zoned in on the movie that was playing. "Is there anything in particular you want for dinner?" Annette asked as she stepped into the room but stopped a few inches past the entry.

Chastain's glaze slowly slid from her laptop to her mother's face to acknowledge her. "Anything is fine." She answered not really caring what they were eating as long as it wasn't coffee and granola bars. Annette nodded her head and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her. Chastain attention snapped back to her laptop when she heard the MacManus twins on the screen gloat about killing the ten Russian mob bosses after falling through a ventilation system and hanging upside down by their ankles, just as she heard her father walk through the front door and soon ascend the stairs, before he went to his and Annette's bedroom to shower and change clothes. Undoubtedly he would visit his daughter's room after he was finished completely oblivious of the laws his daughter broke and the secrets she was beginning to keep.

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**A/N:**_ I'm still unsure if there should be another "before" chapter or leave the rest to be discovered later on in the **KHR**_ _storyline I have cooked up._


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ Ah, another post and on a different story no less, dang I really have a lot of time on my hands, for now. I bet you all are happy about it, since I am as well. :) Hope ya'll like this update, Ciao!

Take care,

-SugarLandBabyGirl

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_**Chapter Five**_

If Chastain thought that her first day at Namimori High was going to be anything close to normal_,_ she was quickly proven wrong by a curious following of bizarre events that landed her in the unthinkable position she was neck-deep in now. She could almost literally feel the imaginary hangman's rope around her neck slowly tightening as if to tease her senses and throw her off guard before the chair was unexpectedly pulled out from under her feet. Her left eye twitched in annoyance as the cold eyed male in front of her smirked predatorily and stood to his full height.

Chastain immediately noticed that they were the same height and that his eyes were slightly more blue than grey at the moment. For reasons unknown, the fifteen year old female found both realizations irritating. "Get out of my way or I'll make you." Chastain's tone was bordering on angry, but she tried to keep it apathetic and polite. However her efforts were in vain. "Oh?" His smirk widened and his eyes narrowed, but he seemed pleased by her defiant reply. It was then that she realized that Hibari Kyoya was spoiling for a fight and she was his chosen opponent whether she wanted to be or not.

Her eyes narrowed slightly in repressed anger. Somehow the sharp eyed boy was able to slice straight through all of her barriers with only a pull of his lips. _'Remain calm. Do not let him see your weaknesses.'_ She reminded herself silently. She knew that if she lost her temper or let him see that he was getting under her skin then she would have lost the battle before it even started. Chastain blinked slowly, lazily and shifted her weight to lighten her stance. "I don't feel like indulging your kinky fetish, but, you're not giving me a choice, are you." Her frigid statement was the complete opposite of her indifferent outward appearance, but Hibari's smirk only widened and Chastain took that as a silent agreement on his part.

It was a potentially messy situation she had somehow gotten herself dragged into, but with no other choice left to take, other than running she shifted into her own battle stance cautious of her opponent. She knew very little of his battle techniques and chose to remain cautious. The only thing she knew for certain was that he was a ruthless fighter who showed no mercy to his opponents and wielded a pair of metal tonfa with lethal proficiently. Other than that, she had no idea what he was capable of, but she knew her own strengths and weaknesses well enough to fight with him, at least until he gave himself away.

The only problem was the fact that she wielded a gun and was quite reluctant to pull it out on a senior who could easily get her expelled. For that reason, among several others, she sure as hell couldn't shoot him, even though the thought was highly tempting. _'Damn you.'_ She was going to have to go on the defensive, a move she loathed to make, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was either that or, worst case scenario, flee to avoid a fight altogether. However the latter was not an option she was willing to take, as it would only, no doubt, please him further. Not to mention wound her pride.

"Tell me something Demon of Namimori Chu, is beating others bloody the only way you can get off?" She brazenly asked and seconds later she was dodging strikes to her face and middle from those deadly tonfa. "Kamikorosu," Hibari hissed threateningly and Chastain quirked a smirk of pure malice and satisfaction when his face turned nothing short of enraged. He had fallen right into her trap. They danced around each other for several minutes one taking swings and the other dodging strikes, until Chastain found an opening in his defense. It was a small, brief opening. Had she not been trained by ruthless professionals she wouldn't have even noticed it since he was so closely guarded.

'_Got you,'_ She silently congratulated herself as the dark haired male lunged at her ready to deliver a bone breaking strike to her collarbone, only to miss her entirely and receive an unforgiving knee to his gut. Chastain had kicked him as hard as she could, admittedly, with the coldblooded intent of causing internal damage. She was going to let him know that she was not a weak, so-called, _herbivore_. To his credit and her surprise, he only let out a soft grunt and winced, having managed to dodge the full effect of her strike last minute, but it was all too clear that she had gotten him; she had won the first battle.

As she had expected, he quickly rose up from his hunched over position and spun around to face her. He was all too ready to continue the fight, only to pause in mild surprise when he came face-to-face with a cocked and loaded gun. "You're very skilled Hibari Kyoya, but right now, I'm stronger than you." Her trigger finger twitched when he shifted to make a move to retaliate from hearing her insulting words. His eyes narrowed into thin slits that sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine, but she didn't flinch or blink. She wasn't lying or gloating. She was telling the truth as it needed to be told: bluntly.

"The difference between us, Hibari Kyoya is that I've already matured my fighting skills." Her mouth moved before her brain could form a rejection. "In truth, I don't have much room left to grow before I reach my limit." She, strangely, felt like she needed to tell him why he had been beaten by her even if it gave her own weaknesses away. "You however, have much more skill than I could ever dream of possessing, because you haven't matured at all. Your skills are still unrefined, basically limitless at this point. Therefore it is possible for you to become much stronger than I am."

Hibari nailed her with a withering dark look of defiance and resentment, but he understood exactly what she was telling him. He understood it all too well and seemed to accept it, for the moment. "Wait for the day, _herbivore_." He left her alone on the Namimori School rooftop with that unhidden threat reverberating through her mind. Chastain holstered her gun and wrapped her arms protectively around her middle. The weather had suddenly become uncomfortably chilly. _'His eyes… they're so-_' A soft squeak from behind had her spinning on her heel, gun drawn defensively, since she was still highly alert from the fight. She cursed mutely when she came face-to-face with a familiar teen boy.

"Good afternoon," The boy laughed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. His eyes were closed, but Chastain knew, she just knew that he wasn't as oblivious as he was acting. After a moment, his eyes opened and they were serious, no longer shining with juvenile delight. Chastain flicked the safety on and holstered her gun before anyone else could discover her secret. "You can keep a secret, can't you?" Chastain's question was more of a subtle threat. The boy nodded his head, his face somber, almost questioning and uncomfortably accepting all at the same time. Then it was like someone had flipped on a switch and his features childishly lit up. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, and it's nice to officially meet you."

Chastain coolly eyed the seemingly bipolar boy for a moment. "Dalianis Chastain," She replied offhandedly and the boy, Yamamoto Takeshi, smiled brightly showing all of his perfect pearly whites. She supposed that he was a relatively attractive boy since he did warrant a second, closer inspection, but she was far from interested. "Chastain-chan, then," He asked with his eyes open. "Whichever you prefer," Chastain returned noncommittally. The boy cocked his head to the side thoughtfully as if seriously thinking over her words. After a moment he smiled brightly. "Do you want to eat lunch with me later, Chastain-chan?" That question pulled her up short and she blinked, honestly unable to verbally respond.

* * *

The day had started off like any other rather boring Monday. After an indifferent farewell to her parents and a simple breakfast, Chastain exited her house and headed off towards Namimori Middle School for her first day of class. She had passed the entrance exams with a ninety-eight average on almost all subjects' only a week prior, but the heads of the school had placed her in a lower grade do to her barely lower score in History, which no one could fault her for since it was all about Japan and not America. Least to say the teachers were impressed and her parents were pleased. She was just glad that it was finally over.

Unfortunately there was something could easily live without: the required school uniform. While it wasn't entirely hideous, she still would have preferred to wear casual clothing. She could even live with the skirt. It was just the tacky high-rise socks and uncomfortable shoes she had to wear that continuously grated on her nerves. The red bow around her neck also bothered her, but not as badly as the socks. Other than those few complaints Chastain was about as ready to face her new school as she would ever be. With a bored roll of her hooded eyes Chastain shrugged her loose shoulder bag back up onto her shoulder and continued on her way.

She wasn't in a hurry due to her leaving earlier than was actually necessary, so she took in the sights, having nothing better to occupy herself with for the moment. It only took brief instant for her to survey her surroundings and find that there was nothing of interest happening, before she dropped her gaze in thought. Somehow the dark haired boy with piercing eyes had managed to elude her after that night on the streets. If she was completely honest with herself, Chastain would have to admit that she hadn't put any actual effort forth to find him. She was placing all the blame for her lack of motivation on studying for school entrance exam, but that wasn't the complete truth. Not that she would ever admit the real truth, even to herself, because that was a flaw and she was not weak.

But she knew that going to Namimori would give her a chance to observe Hibari Kyoya at a closer range without seeming suspicious. Her sudden interest in him was puzzling, especially to herself. However there was something about him that captivated her interest in a way that very few things had before. Perhaps she was only interested in his strength as a rival fighter? That was the only sensible reason she could come up with and she decided to stick with it. Yes, she would continue to delude herself into thinking that was the cause of her interest in him. It was after all, partially the truth, so why not make it the whole? It was the only logical thing to do.

When she reached the school she wasn't surprised to find that it was pretty much deserted, not that she had expected it to be crawling with overeager students. There were however, at least five or so students already there and that was going by how many different voices she caught. She could hear them talking excitedly about a club meeting and figured they were the individual school club presidents and important representatives. As she stepped into the school yard, the voices quieted as the owners caught sight of the new student, her. Ignoring the whispering that wasn't so quiet Chastain walked up the stairs and into the school building.

Alone and in blissful silence she mapped out the school building and its grounds, habitually familiarizing herself with its every nook and cranny incase she needed the information at a later date. When she realized what she had unconsciously done, she sighed under her breath and quickly exited the building to get some fresh air. But there was nothing she could do now that the information had already been stamped into her memory, where it would stay. Chastain shadowed past a different group of teenagers, who took no notice of her unfamiliar presence, much to her relief, and found herself walking the outside of a chain-link fence.

Inside the fence was a baseball field, something the American teen could familiarize with. Though she wasn't a big fan of baseball, she had watched a few games and found them entertaining enough if she was really bored and nothing else was on. Surprisingly, there was actually someone practicing on the field. He looked like a typical teenage Japanese boy. He had spiky dark hair and a smooth darker complexion, which was lighter than her own. He had the slim, lengthy body of an athlete that Chastain silently scrutinized as he practiced, unaware of her presence. She noted the lines of determination on his face and realized that she had seen him before. She knew that face. Those expressive brown eyes had smiled at her as she stumbled past him in a sickly daze.

He had been the one standing in front of a Sushi store. The memory nearly caused her to wince. That had not been one of her finer moments and she hoped he had forgotten it, even if she hadn't. She watched him practice for several more minutes, before she shifted the shoulder bag and moved to leave but apparently she had been spotted by the baseball practicing teen. He called out a friendly greeting, flashed a friendly smile and made a half waving motion with his free hand. Chastain only stared at him with a blank expression for several moments before she nodded back to his friendly greeting. She then abruptly turned on her heel and left, wondering why strangers kept smiling at her like that without any real cause.

With nothing else left to do, Chastain returned to the school. This time she successfully avoided all of the early students. It wasn't until she felt the crisp morning breeze brush her warm skin that she realized she had been able to make her way to the school rooftop unconsciously. She blinked and glanced around, now fully aware of what was going on around her. She immediately noticed that she was within an arm's length reaching distance of the protective chain link fence that boarded the roof. Curious as to why her legs and subconscious brought her to that particular place, she stepped forward and her fingers immediately linked with the cool metal. Her gaze dropped to the ground below, where the once nearly empty space was quickly filling up with cheerful students.

As apathetic cerulean eyes studied a group of smiling teens happily chatting animatedly together, a strange twinge pricked at her chest. But faded just as quickly as it appeared when she glanced away, towards the cloud riddled sky. While she was caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the new presence sneaking up on her. "You should be in class, _herbivore_." A cold voice spoke up from behind and despite the sudden, painful hammering in her chest Chastain casually turned around to face the intruder, only to momentarily stop breathing altogether when her gaze met familiar icy orbs. _'Hibari… Kyoya,'_


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N:_**So since it's been for frickin' ever since I've updated, I've decided to post shorter chapters - like this one - since I believe that it will allow me to update this story more often.

I'd like to send a shout-out and a hell of lotta love to **SweetxasXSin**, who recently sent me a long and detailed review that made me want to kick my own ass for not updating as often as I should and as often as you readers deserve. So, thank you. I really appreciate it, perhaps more than you'll ever know. :D

**SweetxasXSin**: P.S. - To answer your question, yes this is the same Chastain from my other one-shots. Yet, at the same time, she's a completely different person. In my one-shot series Chastain is older, wiser, more willing to lean on others and let them help her through her problems, and more importantly she's more emotional, softer in all aspects, especially with her children, husband and friends. I know this way is more information than your question, but details - I tend to let them run away with me. Sorry!

Take care,

~ SugarLandBabyGirl

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_**Chapter Six**_

"… Do we even have class together?" Chastain asked after several moments of shocked silence on her part. What else could she say?

Dark lashes fluttered, briefly covering his warm mocha hued eyes as Yamamoto thought over her question. It took a moment for the question to fully process, before he gave a sheepish laugh and flashed another one of those ridiculously bright smiles. "That's a good question."

'_This boy is… not quite right.' _The thought had briefly crossed her mind before, but now she was certain that Yamamoto Takeshi was _different_, to put it politely. She couldn't peg him as being a complete simpleton with rare flashes of genius or a genius pretending to be a simpleton.

Her inability to place him in one category or another was frustrating. Her fingers twitched in irritation, yet her eyes remained placid. Why? Her back teeth ground together painfully in her mounting ire. Why was he not like everyone else? Even Hibari Kyoya was simpler to place than this boy.

She was certain that there was _something_ inside of him. She had seen a brief flash of it, had _felt_ it even. She had seen that obscure something that was buried not-so-deep beneath the surface. Whatever that something was, it was dark and surprisingly dangerous.

She was somewhat intrigued by this boy, his mystery and the bipolar flashes. He was worth observing for now, she decided. Later on she may lose all interest in him, but for now he was a suitable distraction from those icy eyes she would never be able to completely forget.

"What class are you in, Chastain-chan?" He asked, firmly grounding her drifting thoughts. She answered automatically and was rewarded with another bright, close-eyed smile. "We're in the same class!" He unnecessarily announced, as if his body language hadn't already clued her in on this fact.

She nodded absentmindedly and let her gaze wander, but never did she let him completely out of her sight. She kept him in her peripheral vision at all times. Her inhumanly honed instincts wouldn't let her trust him completely. Not that she fully trusted anyone. Even her parents were exempt. She trusted no one but herself and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

"So," The uncommon seriousness in his tone instantly snapped her gaze back onto him. A soft shiver of warning raced down her spine when their gazes met. His mocha gaze had hardened along with his demeanor and tone. "Will you have lunch with me?"

Should she accept? Should she deny? She wasn't sure anymore. He was like a snake in the grass. She could see him, but she couldn't tell if he would strike out at her or just eventually move on. Her mouth moved before her brain could fully process the pros and cons and filter accordingly. "Yes, I'll join you. Thank you for asking."

Yamamoto gave her a thousand-watt smile and opened his mouth to speak when the bell rang, visibly startling both teenagers and alerting both students that they were late to class. Chastain visibly jolted at the thought of her parents finding out that she was late on her first day.

The punishment and the inevitable lectures that would ensue had her ignoring her rooftop companion in favor of rushing, but not running towards the classroom she was supposed to be in. If her parents ever found out about this–

"Wait for me!" Yamamoto called from behind her, his long legs allowing him catch up to her accelerated stride without difficulty. When he reached her side their gazes met for only the briefest moment, and yet it was a moment that would stick with her for the rest of her life. Not matter how much she tried to put it out of her mind, it refused to leave her.

He tilted his head sideways and gave her a sheepish smile that was followed by an unconcerned and half-amused laugh that made the built up tension over being found out involuntarily ease just the slightest. She had to forcefully tear her gaze away from his and stubbornly refused to let their gaze catch again for the rest of the day.

Even after their mad dash to class and her impassive introduction to the rest of the class, her skin continued to prickle uncomfortably. Whatever had happened between them in that moment was one she refused to acknowledge and yet her body wouldn't let her overlook it so easily.


End file.
